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Gene's Epic 2012 Juke AWD Engine Rebuild Thread

130K views 921 replies 28 participants last post by  pboglio 
#1 ·
Figured I'd start a new thread for my pending engine rebuild.

Backstory:


My mighty Juke AWD went down back in September 2018 due to age and modding and the end result was a wasted CVT transmission. You guys might have followed my CVT thread over the last 8 months. It probably was a 2 month build w/6 months of sitting around thinking, redesigning, getting quotes from machine shops, etc. On a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, it was a solid 10. Few parts were readily available to order. I modified and custom upgraded the transmission where there weren't parts available. Well, having 80,000 miles on the engine doesn't make sense to slap a nearly brand new CVT rebuild on it.

Goal:

Now many are thinking: Why a built motor on a CVT? I mean, the OE CVT at most can hold 260-280 lb-ft before having some serious reliability problems long term. I've owned my Juke AWD CVT since 2012 and I'm aware of the limits of the CVT. It's sobering how limited the CVT is BUT it's not unlike the EVOX 5 spd vs. 6spd DSG debate. Those DSG owners embraced the torque limitations and what the benefits of having a rapid shifting automatic offered. The CVT isn't that different when you think about it. The advantage of having a nice torque vectoring AWD automatic is hard to give up. For what I do and how I drive, I like me a nice modded AWD automatic. My other toys are a modded 2015 EVO X Final Edition and 2005 WRX STi waiting on a rebuilt engine. Nothing new I'm interested that is as quick and still has the hatchback/CUV form factor without costing a mint. I've looked at the Kona 2.0L w/DSG, probably the closest thing out there I like.

A built motor might appear completely overkill. But if you think about it, the cost to upgrade the motor vs. a standard rebuild/refurb is only about $1500 more. I'm 80k miles into my original engine, making the rebuild choice a tough one. The existing engine block, oil pan upper case, crankshaft, cylinder head all can easily be refurbished for a rebuild without any issue. A bare engine was going to run me about $4850 w/core exchange + $250 shipping. A shortblock maybe $2100, though also needing another $1500 in OE parts to make it reliable. The rebuilt stock engine with FULL upgrades (NOT bolt-on parts) is running around $3500 in parts at this point, with machine shop labor ~$4,500. The bolt-on parts will probably add another $3k-$4k as well. I already have the 19T turbo upgrade, Injen 3" catback, and ECUTek software I'm not counting since I bought those 6 years ago.

Couple points: I'll be running the RS rod bearings and stock main bearings. I was going to try the ACL bearings (5M2905H-STD) but 2J seem to have good luck with the OE mains. They recommended the RS Oil pump and I'm going with that with a Setrab external engine oil cooler. The Cometic head gasket is probably overkill but it's another 2J recommend. To allow enough airflow thru the front FMIC core, I'm switching to the RS front bumper cover and possibly the RS rear hatch spoiler to balance things out cosmetically. My boost controller will be electronic since I hate the programmed boost curves on the ECUTek reflashes......old school but it works.

Power goals are simple: 300 h.p./265 lb-ft @ crank. Maybe 280 h.p./257 lb-ft for daily driving.

Parts List:

The parts to support this are a LONG list which partially is listed below.


- Cometic Head Gasket
- 2J Forged pistons
- 2J Forged connecting rods
- RS rod bearings
- OE main bearings
- OE head bolts
- OE main bolts
- RS oil pump
- Water pump
- Honed/Hot Tanked Engine Block (decked)
- Rebuilt Head (Multiangle valve job, new guides & seals, decked)
- 2J Racing 255LPH in-tank fuel pump
- OE high pressure fuel pump
- Flowed/balanced Fuel injectors
- ECUTek retuning (MAF scaling/fuel trims, higher pump pressures, etc.)
- Exhaust manifold (light port work, Swain white lightning coated)
- Mambatek 19T turbo upgrade
- Mambatek upgraded wastegate actuator
- Mambatek TD04L 9 blade turbine wheel retrofit
- GTM 2.5" S.S. downpipe
- Fast Religion 2.5" testpipe w/flex (Swain white lightning coated)
- Injen 3" catback
- 2J Racing FMIC w/crash bar
- Injen Upper I.C. pipes (red wrinkle coated)
- Synapse Diverter Valve
- Injen 3" CAI
- Injen turbo inlet pipe
- Mambatek 2.5" compressor inlet
- RS front bumper cover
- Upgraded CVT (my rebuild/upgrade)
- Setrab CVT cooler with fanpack
- Setrab Engine Oil cooler
 
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#832 ·
Well, little bit change of plans and it's radical. Basically my mom needs a car and most likely going to be gifting her my Juke. I'll detail out how I manage to put basically everything back to stock while still running a forged engine and built transmission. There will be some small tweaks to make that all work but generally I'll be going for maximum reliability and emissions compliant. Luckily I didn't spend any money on brake or suspension mods but still will have to be buy new replacements.

Little bit sorry this vehicle won't have fullfilled it's true potential but in a way it'll have served it's purpose and might actually live a longer life just running at stock power levels. I'll still get to maintain it for my mom and drive it every once in awhile.
 
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#833 ·
Buy her a used Corolla or other reliable used car ?
 
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#834 · (Edited)
Yeah that is true. Still looking at some options, will have to see how it works out.

Edit: Back on track. She's getting a new Honda Civic 2023. Disregard. Saving me the headache of converting back to stock or if something breaks without a warranty. I'll be quiet for a bit while the trans is getting completed.
 
#835 ·
Received some parts for the front swaybar mounts.

Shown starting left is a brand new front Nissan sway bar mount, center is the Siberian Bushing Juke front polyurethane swaybar mount, right is the PowerFlex Juke front sway bar mount "street" version. Quickly I realized the stock Nissan mounts are the superior version. They use a high durometer "thin" rubber with a PA-GF30 insert that is rock hard. You can see the other (2) have a solid 1 piece design which no matter how high durometer they use cannot match a glass filled nylon for strength/stiffness. The Powerflex street sway bar mount I can compress by hand and would be the worst option. Thus I'm going to be running a new set of Nissan front swaybar mounts as these would be the stiffest you could fit to a Juke.

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#836 · (Edited)
Some interesting information below regarding bearing design and engine lubrication.

As always, an interesting article from MotoIQ:


The picture below shows a 4B11T motor that has the cast oil groove in the main journal saddle(s), which is under the bearing oil groove. This is designed to improve oil feed to the rod bearings from the upper main bearing without having to resort to a 360* grooved main bearing setup (i..e grooved lower main bearing) which is not normally done anymore (not shown). I was wanting to try this modification on my Juke build but decided not to risk it as it required precision machining of the engine block and I was running out of time. The block grooves are rather shallow but this is an OEM oil design feature on a high output factory 4-cyl turbo application. These Mitsubishi 4B11T engines are designed to rev to 7500 rpms stock and is generally considered a heavily reinforced engine block stock from the factory (semi-closed deck, lower main cap girdle/craddle, 4-bolts per main cap, etc).

The Juke main bearings don't get abused too much but the rod bearings do get less oil and I've seen some very "slight" rod bearing wear on basically a stock Juke at high mileage so a modded high horsepower & high revving Juke might benefit from this modification. Keep in mind Nissan upgraded the RS with revised/improved rod bearings and it's very possible they expected the RS to see some track or competitive use. I've also installed the RS rod bearings because I'll take all the factory upgrades I can get.

I can review this oil groove block machining with my machine shop for opinions but my engine is already fully built and not touching it again so it's an academic point for me....lol. The machine shop I used is the one that AMS Motorsports use to machine their engines and who machine their billet GTR engine blocks that cost +$30k or whatever crazy price they charge. I'll be doing all my 4B11T engine machining with them and any future Juke stuff as well if it's ever needed.

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Here is the Honda K24 build from MotoIQ. Same.......block main oil groove and the 180* bearings. Seems to be a successful trend going on there. I'll gladly copy what the 4B11T and the K24 factory are doing if it works. These guys also like using the King XP bearings which is why I'm trying them out, hopefully they work out great.


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Regarding main bearing design

Another article from Mahle/Clevite as to WHY you don't want to be using a 360* grooved main bearing (not the block groove). Keep in mind the OEM Nissan Juke use a 180* main bearing design.



Ron Sledge from King Engine Bearings explains, even though in most cases it's not recommended, the reasons WHY they DO apply this 360* bearing design on certain applications such as the Subaru EJ and FA motors. Mainly due to common failures of the rod bearing on certain cylinders which helps but at the expense of some of the main bearing lubrication which is a fair tradeoff considering the alternative. Ironically the EJ motor already have the block oil groove cast into the main saddle(s) but the EJ have so many design flaws in terms of block flex/strength, cracking piston lands, blown head gaskets, poor cylinder head flow, poor head/block cooling, etc. that it's not really a good example of a well designed engine. King are doing this with their XP bearings in this review which might have some improvements in design to counter the negatives. Otherwise you don't see this much and not really recommended. Which is why I'm using a 180* grooved bearing from King with the XPC P-max coated race bearings from a 4B11T engine.



Juke engine block bearing install

Below are pictures of the King XP P-black main bearings (4B11T application) that I modified and installed in my Juke engine, the lube was added later. The picture(s) show a 180* grooved upper bearing on the block, and the "partially" grooved lower bearing which is more of a groove lead-in. XP have many variations on this design and use a ~150* style bearing on the GTR. The entire bearing is designed such to feed as much oil to the rods as possible with the larger oil feed slot(s), revised oil groove, etc.

I made modifications to the bearing to increase the slot opening and cut the locator tang off so it would fit into the Juke. Pictures show how small the Clevite OEM style bearing feed hole is (3mm dia.) compared to the stock Juke OEM bearing (5mm dia.). I could not in good conscience install this Clevite bearing and it came with a 360* groove design on top of all that, so all the bad design features in one bearing. Hard to believe a small hole would help when the engine block oil galley feeding it is huge, this is the reason for the XP slotted hole. Also keeping in mind a block with a main journal groove machined/cast into it could actually utilize (2) holes while ours can only utilize (1) of these small holes so the cross sectional flow areas are closer taking this into consideration. The smaller holes also maintain more bearing load surface area so it's done on purpose but used on (1) block galley oil feed (w/out main journal groove) is going to be restrictive and turbulent. Thus it matters on which engine this bearing is installed and how it's machined. For our engine no way would I use these style bearings. Oil pressure readings would actually be improved by running a restrictive oil feed hole so it's tough to use oil pressure to say what would happen with a bearing as it's coming after the restriction. I'm running slightly looser bearing clearances and generous oil bearing feed so I do have to pay attention to oil pressure and that's something I'll address later in this build when this darned engine is actually running.

The XP bearings in the right pic compared to the stock bearing and some of the modifications I made to unshroud the feed hole. This is similar to other XP designs but on the 4B11T they only had the slot and not the center hole so I added it on these but it's probably only a small difference. This XP bearing is considered a racing bearing so there are some pros/cons to be running these but they trade some wear for higher load capacity. These are also 18mm wide vs. the stock 17mm so I get more load capacity as well as all the fancy bearing tech. Were I to do this all over again I'd have simply would've bought OEM Nissan main bearings for how I'm driving my vehicle. The marks on the bearings are from the tungsten tips used on the dial bore gauge required to accurately measure the bearings when bolted down inside the engine block for oil clearance measurements. This is typical and doesn't hurt anything but should be done as delicately as possible.


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#837 · (Edited)
Been reviewing which engine oil to be running.

Considering my main bearing clearances are .0027" (Nissan upper spec .0026") and my rod bearing clearances are .0026" (Nissan upper spec limit .0028") I have some choices to make. That was mainly due to polishing the crankshaft and more material was removed than I wanted. The thicker bearings went on permanent backorder so I got screwed and the dealership canceled that order so I was stuck short of buying a new crankshaft. To fix this I have to run a heavier weight oil. Recommended for .0023" to .0028" main bearing clearances to run a 10w40 weight oil while for rods .0022-.0027" to run 5w-30 or 10w30. I'd definitely like to get these clearances lower next time as there is a horsepower advantage to running it tighter but it is what it is now.

Some small advantages are that the 2J connecting rods have the rod oil sprayer hole(s) not drilled (not the piston oil jets, those are still in the block). Those will reduce the amount of oil leakage past the rod bearings. The main bearings are 18mm vs. 17mm wide so again the oil leakage should be reduced slightly due to that.

AMSOIL have XL10w30 and XL 10w40 which is what I'm looking at or the Signature Series 0w40. I'm trying to target a Kinematic Viscosity @ 100C of about 13.3 cSt compared to about 10.9 cSt for 10w30 as this gives about a 25% increase in viscosity between sizes which seems typical (i.e. 5w20 to 5w30). To do that I can blend in a 50% ratio (see online calculator below) of the 10w30 and 10w40 and give that a go and check the oil pressure to confirm the hot idle pressures. Costs about $38 per gallon. The Signature Series 0w40 is a super high performance oil but it's a little bit thick with a Kinematic Viscosity of about 14.8 cSt and cold starts will also be higher but it's an option in hotter conditions. The AMSOIL European 0w40 is about 13.1 cSt but lacks the zinc & phosphorus additives I'm needing, thus the requirement for the blending of the XL version of their oil.

There's also some concern about the VVT solenoids, cam phasors, timing chain tensioner, chain oil sprayer, mechanical fuel pump lube, turbo, & cam lifter buckets with running a heavier oil but I can monitor some of that as time goes by which is why I'm making a moderate change in the oil weight to shade it a bit safer for the bearings. The oil pressure checks will give me a decent idea where to blend it but generally this is going to be how I dial in the oil pressure to get the correct oil thickness for the bearings to be happy.


 
#838 · (Edited)
Not too many updates lately. Been busy at work with design projects and the CVT transmission is taking priority at the moment.

Weather is starting to get nicer so I'll have more time to start finishing up the sub-frame restoration and remaining paint work, excited about finishing that. CVT transmission development is basically done aside from the cooling upgrades so I don't spend too much time researching any further improvements. Those last few transmission items I need to order but there isn't any big rush as they are short lead time items. Not having to spend huge money every month as the project winds done is a nice change of pace. Later on it'll start getting spendy again once the vehicle is running but it should go quickly after brake and suspsension mods are finalized. I'm really liking the look of my EVO X winter 18" alloys and they'll look awesome on the Juke and have a nice stance so money will definitely be saved on wheels. I'm gathering up the bits for a Nissan 14" brake package upgrade so that'll be covered in this engine build thread as well.

I'm currently winter driving my EVO X so I've been saving huge money on vehicle storage and car rental costs. Wish I realized this early in the project but this last year I just could not justify renting vehicles for winter anymore. Better option is before a major vehicle build just save up for a cheap/used daily driver and then flip it later on to recoup the costs. Goes without saying but my low-rise QuickJack vehicle lift made life so much easier/safer for the transmission/engine/suspension work even though it's been sitting for the last 4 years it makes vehicle project work so much easier. In the future I may buy a smaller hydraulic table/cart from Harbor Freight so I can just drop the subframe/suspension & engine/trans as a single unit from the bottom/front. This also solves the problem of where to temporarily store the engine/trans as an engine hoist is really a space hog and not good for long term storage purposes. I have future engine/trans projects on the EVO X and WRX STi so I may go this route as it's just so much more efficient and I see a lot of guys doing builds this way.

Been looking at other vehicles to replace the Juke but generally I'll try and keep it another 2-3 years and go from there. Not seeing much out there that interests me so I'm OK to wait a few years like I did with my EVO purchase. The Corolla GR is probably the closest thing out there for the money but I'd have to dump the EVO to trade for it, not sure if that's a good move. The next WRX STi is rumored to be a gas-electric hybrid so that's possibly something I'm willing to wait for if it happens in the next 3-5 years as they are talking 400 h.p. combined with the gas engine and electric motors. I have absolutely zero interest in converting a Juke AWD/CVT to a 6 spd manual AWD. When I'm done with the Juke build then it's a wrap. I'd like to convert my EVO X to a 6spd sequential transmission or go DSG conversion and thus need to switch focus to future vehicle projects. The world is changing and a manual transmission oddly enough isn't anywhere near competitive as they once were though it's fun to row the gears. The enthusiasm for the Juke over the last few years is definitely waning as I start realizing there isn't much more that can be done to a Juke AWD/CVT to make it more reliable while still being heavily tuned. I may prove myself wrong but there is definitely an upper limit beyond which it doesn't make much sense. Still, the Juke build will be completed as planned but when it's done it's done.
 
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#839 · (Edited)
Going to try some seat upgrades for the Juke. This is a bit out of left field but it's coinciding with my EVO X build and I'm starting to share some parts between them (i.e. rims, seats, etc.). Promise this won't turn into an EVO build thread but I am sharing some parts.

I had bought a set of EVO X MR alcantara Recaro's for my 2015 EVO X FE back in 2017 and haven't installed them since. Factory dropped the Recaro option in 2015 thus I got screwed. Used seats are a very tricky thing to buy on Ebay and you can only tell so much from the pictures. Overall the seats were in great shape especially the passenger seat which is a 9 out of 10 rating. Problem was the driver's seat bottom had a small tear in the seat lower stitch seam on the bottom cushion that wasn't visible in pictures. Needs a bit of repair work done so I never installed them on the EVO X as I put it off as the Juke took most of my focus. I recently bought a 2nd set of these MR Recaro's for the EVO in addition to the matching rear seats and a factory Mitsu Navigation & Radio system for relatively cheap. So I have this original set of seats as a spare set to try in the Juke. The seat bolster on the driver's lower was also damaged though there are options for repairing this effectively. There is a company in the UK that sells some of the new Recaro seat internal foam inserts and seat webbing that I'm going to want for a full seat restoration. This foam is typically spot patch repaired and the damage is simple to fix but also I can purchase it new with some slight modification to make it fit perfectly. Most guys might not bother to repair this damage but I've seen enough ratty EVOs running around with terrible looking torn/damaged Recaro's that I would never install them in the Juke unless they were properly restored or completely re-upholstered which is another option. A company called Leatherseats.com also sell custom leather re-upholstered skins (i.e. NOT seat covers but actual seat skins) for many vehicles so it's another option as well. Pictured below is their MR Recaro leather re-upholstery which doesn't look as good as the OEM Recaro alcantara version but hugely better than the Recaro cloth version of that seat which tend to take a beating. For the Juke there is no "factory" look I need to adhere to so a full re-upholstery is a viable option.

Anyway, this is a very diffiult area to repair leather at a stitch seam and it's simpler to remove the leatherette section and replace it. For that leather repair I'm going to try and get a local interior shop to match the color/texture of the factory leather insert and have them de-stitch and remove it and cut a new leather section based on the original and sew it all back in again. I'll have to provide the seat frame & cushion to test fit & form for the repaired seat bottom cover. The seat frame also requires some media blasting and repainting as originally they were bare steel and have some slight corrosion which is common. So definitely there is some restoration work to do but I had already started tearing down the seat to begin that process a few years ago. The leather/alcantara required some heavy cleaning using: hot water, Woolite detergent, microfibers, and some white towels. This is how I cleaned it and it worked out great though the seats are now dusty from sitting around.

So this thread may get into some seat repair/restoration as I think it's a common problem during builds. I have no experience with interior restoration but I'll be doing a mix of mechanical restoration (seat frame & lower mounts), foam repair/replacement, and working with an outside vendor to restore back to OEM these EVO X MR Recaro seats. I'm very picky about my interior so it has to be in quality shape before I re-install anything into a vehicle, thus why these seats sat for 5 years. These MR Recaro seats are a mix of: standard leather, alcantara embossed center inserts, alcantara plain side inserts, and vinyl outside/back construction. They are considered the "non-leather" MR version as there is a full "leather" MR Recaro as well. However not to be confused with the RS Recaro "cloth" seats which share the same construction as the MR version but come in cloth/velvet but don't hold up anywhere near as well.

What's all this for? Well for the Juke build I was going to need seat upgrades anyway. I actually like the stock Juke seats but the bolstering is essentially zero. Since I plan on doing some RS body/visual upgrades the interior needs an improvement. I had planned on some weight reduction but these Recaro are also pretty heavy but at this point I'd rather have comfortable bolstered seats. My build is mainly functional with some aesthetic improvements were possible. I don't particularly like the Nissan RS Recaro's though they look amazing they by far are some of the most uncomfortable seats I've ever sat in and very tight fitting. I've seen the RS seats go for typically around $3,000 and that is out of my price range though if they were comfortable I'd have purchased them. These MR Recaro seats are hugely comfortable but also massively bolstered with an internal steel bolster frame for track days or Auto-X. Really the best of both worlds and I even sit in them just to chill in the house when I'm bored though they really belong inside of a sports car. These MR Recaro's brand new are about...........$13,000 for the pair or $6500 ea. not including the rear seats which is another $2,000. These seats used on Ebay are typically $1,300 ($1500 shipped) for the pair though I have to factor labor and parts to refurbish. I'll have to give up on the factory side seat airbag though these have an internal side-airbag I don't think they are compatible with a Nissan. Not totally sure these seats will even fit a Juke but I'll test fit them at some point. If they don't end up fitting I can use them in my future WRX STi build.

Anyway, this upgraded seat project will be running in parallel with the CVT build and finalizing the engine build so it'll all start coming together though not in any particular order. Next up I have some brake upgrades to start piecing together for the Juke and I'll cover that a bit later.

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#840 ·
Rented out a moving van to pickup the MR Recaros for about $90 which is pretty good, definitely won't fit in the EVO. So I'll be dropping over to the salvage yard to pickup that up on Friday. The existing radio bezzle will directly accept the Mitsu Navigation system I bought which should make the nav upgrade plug-n-play. They also had a low mileage SST 6spd transmission for around $3500 which is fairly cheap........I now almost want to have a DSG automatic style transmission for a future swap. The SST transmission typically go for about $13,000 brand new but they can be repaired and upgraded (i.e. clutches, etc.) for fairly reasonable cost as they have them all figured out now. The amount of aftermarket transmission TCM tuning capability the SST have makes me jealous compared to the Juke CVT which is basically zero.

I'll see when I get there what the exact condition of the seats are as the passenger side almost always near perfect while the driver's side tend to have the wear. The plan for this set of seats is to take the seat bottom from the passenger side and use it on my existing driver's side as the OEM Mitsubishi P/N for the seat bottom are the exact same for driver's and passenger. This'll allow me to build a complete mint OEM set of seats for the EVO X and the other remaining (2) MR Recaros seats with some minor restoration I can then if I have to custom reskin/reupholster and put into the Juke. I'm thinking some "Nismo" embroidery or something like that on the headrest but still keep a charcoal grey seat color with alcantara/leather combo. Then I can take existing Juke rear seats and have them match up with the fronts for a custom EVO/Juke setup. This may be later down the line as I start cleaning up the Juke interior and getting it where I want.

I also have the d-type steering wheel for the Juke to put on order. I'm also looking into getting the paddle shifter conversion from the RS as well though honestly I don't like paddle shifters it would set-off the look of the interior nicely. The Juke Navigation sucks so I'm hoping I can update to something newer with backup camera but still OEM Nissan that'll drop right in, looking into that as well. Might do something with the stock Juke shifter maybe similar to the WK motorsport rally style "tall" manual shifter assemblies they sell, give it that Rally sequential shifter look.
 
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#841 ·
Money Pits. lol

Houses are worse.
 
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#842 ·
Yep, cars are money pits. Houses I've had good luck but I also bought a brand new house out in Indiana so that helps.

Salvage yard sold my MR Recaro seats out from under me, very sketchy. I questioned their inventory control as this isn't all that difficult to check. Rented a cargo van and drove 100 miles for nothing. Got the $1520 credit back. The MR rear seats and Navigation system I kept but the front seats I got some ******** about them selling it locally but in the end I have no front seats. They tried to get me to accept some absolutely garbage seats from a trashed EVO X and I said no thank you. Cannot state how bad people trash their vehicles especially the EVO's, my interiors on all my cars are absolutely mint condition. Juke will eventually get brand new Recaro CS sport seats (i.e. OEM RS style) as I'm not messing around with salvage crap anymore as I don't have the time for it and it's taking too long to refurbish used parts. I think the Recaro CS sport seats are about $1950 ea. with leather/alcantara and I'm considering that worth it if I don't have to waste time refurbishing used seats.
 
#843 ·
That sucks but its typical today. I dont trust anyone or anything for sale. There are so many scams going on out there. Every day on Facebook. I ban people ( US and UK mainly )using the same Juke photos of parts for sale.
 
#844 ·
Yep. Guy at the counter calls the owner and asks him if he took the seats home.....odd question to ask a person. He said the charges got reversed/credited so I'll wait and see with the CC company.
Probably have only gotten screwed over 1-2 times purchasing parts but it does happen. Salvage yards are usually pretty reputable so it's possible it was a mistake. Going forward I'll be using new parts anyway.
 
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#845 · (Edited)
Got the refund on the seats, took a couple of days. Vendor was cool, no issues with them at this point. I'm reviewing the custom seat upholstery options from Leatherseats.com now that I have all of the seat components. I'll never be happy with used seats as-is but for some reason EVO owners like to smoke in their cars and trash the holy hell out of their interiors. Need to place an order on the replacement Recaro seat bolster(s) & the seat webbing from the company in the UK and then the EVO seat project restoration starts up. The Navigation system I media blasted the mounting frame, sourced all new button head frame mounting screws, and I'm going to cold galvanize/zinc coat the frame as it comes OEM with bare steel. That was a nice find for $299 and it's an OEM system from the same vehicle model. Then I possibly need to write the VIN to the navigation system using the MUT-III dealer tool I have so all ECM's are paired up basically and at some point get the maps updated, looking into that. That EVO I also need to put in a twin disc clutch setup and possibly send the manual transmission out for a rebuild to freshen it up and weld up the differential pins which tend to have issues, the main reason to send it out basically. Little bit of work on that vehicle and once I square away all the little details I'll use it for the weekends or cruising around.

Juke related, not much going on. Obviously seats for the Juke will be on the backburner but the Recaro CS sport are a close match to the RS seats just without the side airbags. That'll probably be next year when I start looking at seats again and not a big priority. Weather is getting warmer so I can finish up the sub-frame painting which is holding up this entire project, no paint, no engine install basically. Work and other projects are taking precedent over the Juke but it's going to kick into high gear as the weather warms up.
 
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#846 · (Edited)
Well, got the dreaded P0017 (exhaust cam/crank phase) code on the EVO. If people don't know these are insanely difficult to diagnose and repair. It's looking like a VVT exhaust cam phasor or maybe a sticky timing tensioner. Seems to only throw the code when the vehicle is cold and not when it's warmed up. Service manual basically states it's a timing chain problem as the VVT solenoid is turned off for the test but I've changed all the solenoids and cam position sensors and no dice, code still comes back. Obviously you cannot pass emissions with these codes and it really sucks to stare at a check engine light all the time. I have some functionality to force OBDII completion via ECUFlash, basically eliminating the drive cycle to force readiness states but I cannot eliminate this particular DTC code without actually fixing the problem. Typically that would be a bad idea anyway as this code is a precursor to a failing time chain and future engine failure so I have to bite the bullet regardless. The VVT functions as an EGR thus it falls under emissions check.

Going to be fun replacing a timing chain on this car. I kind of noticed the VVT phasor would get sticky or intermittent on the logger but wasn't sure if it was an electrical problem or mechanical. This is going to slow me down on the Juke but being my daily driver I have to get it to pass emissions as the Juke is a project car and can wait. I'll take this time to install the Cosworth cams I bought a few years back so I'll consider this an upgrade. Then I have to dive back into the car to replace the dead clutch with a twin clutch upgrade. Not sure if I do both at once but given I'll have the engine supported up on a support bar I might do the timing chain & drop the trans and swap the clutch at the same time.

Not sure what a mechanic rates these jobs in terms of hours but I see myself taking 3-4 weekends as it's not a huge rush. I have to wait on parts as the cam upgrade may require different size valve tappet buckets and thus I have to install cams first and remeasure the lash before I order, then wait for parts to arrive. Annoying but a critical step to a proper cam install and often skipped. The clutch replacement I got quoted about $2800 parts & labor from Mitsubishi and a standard timing chain replacement I estimate around $1600-$1800. This doesn't include upgrade parts or additional replacement parts (i.e. VVT phasors, oil pump, water pump, etc.) as they will only do OEM parts so there is no way I'm going to spend over $5,000 w/tax as I can add some upgrades while I'm at it. I'm thinking parts I'm probably in for $2,000 on the twin clutch components and maybe $1600 on the timing chain, VVT phasors, etc. If I had a dealership do that it would be over $7,000 dollars. Not saying don't bring your car to shop but when you are dealing with aftermarket installations it get's trickier and not as straight forward as an OEM service.
 
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#847 ·
I dont know how similar the 9s and 10s are to work on but I will say, doing the timing belt/chain and pulling the trans are probably the 2 worst jobs on an Evo. Granted, I did a clutch swap in a weekend by myself and the timing belt (water pump, pulleys, tensioners...) replacement took about 6 hours. Not sure if belt vs chain is better or worse in terms of swapping but I am betting its not going to be fun. Hopefully you dont have to drop the subframe to get the trans out. Everyone told me I would have to since I had a 6 speed but I got it out without having to drop it. Popping the transfer case off is a blast too.... Good luck!
 
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#848 ·
Thanks Storm Tropper. Probably similar but a bit different. No subframe to drop actually as the EVO & Eclipse don't use them except for the longitudinal cross brace for the front roller stopper, thankfully. The Juke and all newer vehicles seem to love running subframes right under the motor so it's pure hell. It's not that bad apparantly according to the service manual. The tranny swaps I never enjoy but I've done about 4-5 of them so I just get in there and grind it out, they do take me forever though as I like to take my time and review stuff and take many beer breaks....lol. I just bought the deluxe engine support brace from EVC Tuning. This'll make it straightforward for supporting the engine and it's very similar to the OEM Mitsubishi dealer engine brace. Since the oil pan has to drop I can't hold the engine up with a jack so I had to breakdown and spend the money. This'll payoff for the clutch swap as half the battle is holding up the engine and this'll make it so dead simple. I think I can do a timing chain swap in maybe 4-5 hours as not too much has to be removed other than the power steering pump and the belly pan and side guards. I'm fitting upgraded cams so maybe longer as I have to install, then lash check, then order the buckets, then remove and reinstall, then final lash check. I'm looking at some billet EVO X Mivec housings as the stock housing are known to crack and it's a strong possibility I cracked it which is why the oil pressure is low and throwing the DTC error code...possibly. I've bounced off the 7500 rpm rev limiter so many times that I probably beatup the Mivec housing but the timing chain looks dead perfect. I need to start changing my oil at 3,000 miles but the Valvoline Synthetic I'll swear is some of the best oil I've ever used and probably has saved my engines but I have to get better at hitting those oil change intervals as the VVT components really don't like dirty oil.

Gonna get spendy as once I'm in there I'm gonna go all the way and replace anything and everything that can cause me trouble in the future. A timing chain swap at 55,000 miles is kind of ridiculous but it is what it is.

 
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#849 ·
Here's the ECS Tuning Deluxe engine bar installed, ordered on Friday and came on Sunday from Ohio. All nicely powder coated and zinc plated. The rear posts are floating in the air because they don't have height adjustment and are designed for BMW/Audi, the front's are fully adjusted down to take the vertical load. I'll have to make some raised blocks for the rear posts to land on or flip the adjustment to the rear and put shim blocks in the front but in reality this setup is now supported on (6) points of contact with at most the full 500-600 lb engine/trans while also maintaining good side/side lateral stability. The vertical side stanchions come with thick rubber pads that sit on the unibody/fendor and the front factory hard points for supporting the engine bar in the front (2 places). The based version of this engine support doesn't have the cross bars as shown and being tall is highly unstable so IMHO the deluxe version is far superior and works together as a system. Sometimes with this stuff you have to use common sense because this is supporting a good percentage of the engine load while I'm under it to drop the oil pan. I'm not showing the engine hanger or chains in this picture but I'll probably upgrade the chain like I did for the Juke engine removal as I don't trust China made chains. Probably I'll have to use the Harbor Freight load leveler to grab the rear factory engine lift bracket and then in the front the PS mounting brace bolt eyelet is used for front support point. Though at some point a dedicated lift hoist bracket will be CNC cut and mounted near a front hardpoint. The Juke I have both factory Nissan OEM lifting brackets purchased and permanently installed for this purpose though they add some weight it's always good to have lift points. I'll get into that later on the Juke build as I drop the engine & trans into the bay.

If you look at the cheaper Harbor Freight engine support bar they only support using those raised side stanchions or plates. The HF setup sits way lower so it wouldn't have worked well for using a load leveler. Overall this should easily support engine & trans without warping or damaging the bodywork and it's also highly adjustable like a jig fixture to park right onto the factory unibody hard points.

This setup will come in handy on the Juke in future engine service builds so it was worth the $380 w/tax & free shipping from ECS Tuning. I won't bore with details of the timing chain swap or transmission swap as that would be for an off topic thread but where I can show some of the tool upgrades for this build I will.

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#850 · (Edited)
Got the MUT-III pass thru but still having problems connecting with it. I'm basically done with E-bay garbage and Chinabay knockoff crap for this kind of stuff. The price on this stuff is now approaching that of legit dealer level tools. Was going to buy the Nissan Consult knockoff for the Juke but generally this is now wasted more of my time and money.

Since I now have a Nissan, Mitsubishi, Subaru, & Honda I'm needing to get my sanity straight here with (1) single tool and stop messing around with garbage software. I don't like laptops or phone apps for this type of stuff. My $50 OBDII autozone handheld has been amazing value but at this point I need the dealer level tool. Need a handheld standalone I can grab and walk around the garage with. The Autel Maxisys MS906 Pro-TS is what I'm looking at for $1399. It's bluetooth connected to the OBDII plug so I can stroll around the engine bay with it. It'll do all the coding, logging, VIN registration, sensor calibration/registration, possibly ECU/TCM reflash etc. Basically it's a dealer level tool, I'll confirm if it can flash new ECM or TCM updates but the function list says it can as it shows an ECM copy & flash command. For flashing I have the ECUFlash on the EVO and for the Juke the ECUTek. I believe it can copy the TCM firmware and then reload it back onto a new TCM. Plus it has all the CVT teach-in and Clutch point learn functions and all that. About 95% of the dealer tool with the remaining coverage I use the ECUFlash or ECUTek to flash anyway.

Broke down and finally bought a 3/8" electric impact gun, the Ryobi P263 18V ONE+ Cordless 3/8 in 3-Speed Impact Wrench. I cannot stand the fluorescent green but the Ryobi have a good industrial design and they are very price competitive. It's got speed trigger control, 3 speed ranges and an Auto position. I'm going to need this for the EVO clutch swap as I get tired quickly wrenching and the lightweight impact driver will keep me moving quickly so I can pound out this job. I'll be using another set of 6pt sockets to avoid damaging my good set with impacting but that is a minor drawback. I already had the 4 amp-hour battery packs for the pressure washer so it only cost me $119. Online testing it was better than the Milwaukee and DeWalt. As far as I'm concerned these Ryobi products are the working man's tools. The choice was this or the Harbor Freight garbage and I cannot bring myself to by hand tools or these power tools from HF. HF have some great stuff if you are on a tight budget but my wrenches and impacts I needed something cost effective but quality. I just can't afford the Milwaukee stuff anymore it' nearly 2x the price.

Picking up the Harbor Freight engine support bar. The Scwhaben engine support will be used as a base and lined up directly over the rear engine support bracket. Then the HF support bar lays across that with c-clamps to support the front engine lift bracket. This way I don't need a load leveler which takes up vertical space I don't have. Much better than the Mitsubishi engine support tool. I'll show picks but the idea is that the chain support will be directly above the engine lift brackets which will greatly reduce load stress on the chain. It'll look like a big gantry crane with the loads hanging directly below. This'll allow me to jack the engine down to angle it out for the clutch swaps. I then use a scissor jack to push the engine away from the firewall to clear the subframe, and old trick I used on the older Mitsubishi.

All good useful tools I'll have available for the Juke or my other vehicles.


 
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#851 ·
Agreed on the Ryobi stuff. It's funny because I purchased the blue Ryobi 18v stuff like 2 decades ago (I got a combo with circular saw, drill, flashlight, and hand vac, with some accessories, and a big ole durable carrying case and 2 batteries with a charger. Since then I've purchased at least 2 or 3 pairs of new batteries, and more recently the LIon 2 battery pack with charger (which is backwards compatible). And a small grinder and something else I'm forgetting. Now I'm looking for a backpack sprayer for lawn care and they have one for about $119 that works on the LIons. It was a great strategy for them and they keep getting more and better. (y)
 
#852 ·
Yeah, Ryobi is getting pretty good nowadays. I'm looking at their long reach ratchet.

For the Juke stuff I'm building a little rolling dolley so I can lower the subframe. I bought these insanely poor quality Purebuilt 4000 lb Jackstand/bottle jack combo off of Amazon
that I was gonna use as low profile jack stands but after seeing them I realized I wouldn't risk my life using them to lift a car. However, I've always had problems holding up exhaust pipes, transmissions, etc. while working under cars so these little bottle jack/stands will come in handy later for that type of stuff. For the subframe dolley I'll use my transmission scissor jack lift and probably build a wood cradle using 1x2 pine. The problem is I have to drop the subframe to clean, sand, prep it for paint so I need something to move it around with and then for reinstallation. Wood is a nice material cause it's lightweight, easy to cut/drill, can be broken down and repurposed or stored away somewhere convenient. LIterally just an "x-brace" would work with some vertical support standoffs which I might even use as a painting fixture.
 
#854 ·
Yeah, let me know how that works. How much was it?
 
#856 ·
Looks good. I bought a cheap hand pump sprayer but never used it. I'll have to look into the Ryobi at some point. Price is good though, that's what I like about that company.
 
#857 ·
I bought the backpack type spray unit. 18v hold 10 litres/2 n abit gallons. Had it for a year now. Works ok. Had an annoying drip from handle that needed a bit of white plumbing tape to stop. But the missus loves it. Loads up, turns the pump on then walks around n sprays as she needs.
 
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